A new eurozone economic policy "made in France"?

The appointment of Arnaud Montebourg - an outspoken critic of German and EU-mandated austerity and pro-competitivenesses policies - as the new French Economy Minister has not gone down well in Germany.

In a feature piece headlined, "He insults Germany and is promoted", Die Welt claims that "his appointment is controversial – he is known for his failures". The paper goes on to argue:

"He sees himself as the legitimate successor of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the finance minister of the legendary French Sun King Louis XIV... In his previous post of Minister for Re-industrialisation, he above all others terrified foreign investors with class warfare slogans, and now has acquired even more powers in the government of President Francois Hollande".

The paper also claims that Montebourg secured his new position by threatening Hollande that, unless given the Economic Ministry, he would resign from the government - a move which would have been hugely destabilising given his position as a figurehead on the left of the Socialist Party. The paper has a round-up of some of Montebourg's more memorable quotes:

On globalisation, free trade and protectionism:

“The EU is the only one that does not protect itself against unfair competition. We have become the idiots of the global village...For 30 years, consumers have made the law in Europe and the result has been a disaster. Me, I defend the producers."

On the European Commission's application of competition and state aid laws:

"[These people] exercise law in the manner of the taliban, [they are] fundamentalists who apply the [legislative] texts blindly to the detriment of European interests".

On Angela Merkel and Germany's actions during the eurozone crisis (back when the French Socialist Party was still in opposition):

"The issue of German nationalism is resurfacing through the policy à la Bismarck [of Angela Merkel]."

And:

"Mrs Merkel is killing the euro, and it would be time to show the failure of the German model, rather than singing its praises."

Even allowing for the fact that Montebourg is playing to the gallery a fair bit, and that the new government's economic policy will remain more pragmatic overall, it is clear why his appointment will raise concerns in Berlin and beyond about France's already fragile economic situation. In the meantime, we're looking forward to new additions to his already impressive repertoire of memorable quotes.

Is the crisis starting to get to Juncker?

Asked by a journalist earlier this afternoon what the significance the upcoming Troika report would have for the further Greek rescue effort, eurogroup head and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Junker replied that:

"If the donkey were a cat it could climb trees and spend the whole day in the treetops"

Answers on a postcard.

Is the EU really like 27 garden gnomes?

We've been making a concerted effort here on the OE blog to bring you many of the more memorable quotes from the eurozone crisis, and we've had at least one more following a debate in the German Bundestag ahead of tomorrow's European Council summit.

As expected there was a lot of anxiety about potential debt pooling. From CSU MP Gerda Hasselfeldt, for example, who said that calls for a pooling of liabilities between eurozone members would be:

"a betrayal of German interests... It would not be right for the deposits of German savers to be put at risk from the misconduct of banks in other countries” 

Meanwhile, speaking to journalists before the debate, FDP leader Rainer Brüderle slammed the present state of the EU, claiming that:

"The whole world is laughing its head off over these 27, soon to be 28, garden gnomes that are trying to play global politics but can't even get their own act together."

Brüderle, renowned for his tendency to shoot from the hip, had to row back when asked if he counted Angela Merkel among these gnomes, saying that the comment had not been directed at any one individual.

Combined with Merkel's comments yesterday that there would be no shared total debt liability for as "long as she is alive", the mood in Germany is certainly feisty ahead of tomorrow's summit...

Quotes of the Crisis

The eurozone crisis can't be accused of one thing - providing good quotes from politicians or commentators, most notably some of the comments from Slovakian MPs when that country was debating whether to approve an extension of the EFSF.

This morning as part of our daily look through the European press we found another couple of examples that we thought were worth sharing with a wider audience.

Firstly, in the IHT, we have the ever outspoken Hans Werner Sinn, President of the IFO Institute, rebuking US politicians including President Obama for their stance during the crisis:

“Some critics have argued that Germany, having benefited from the Marshall Plan, now owes it to Europe to undertake a similar rescue. Those critics should look at the numbers…Greece has received a staggering 115 Marshall plans, 29 from Germany alone, and yet the situation has not improved. Why is that not enough, Mr Obama?”

Secondly, we have Alexander Dobrindt, the General Secretary of the CSU lambasting the leadership of the opposition SPD for travelling to Paris to meet with French President Francois Hollane in order to discuss a common approach to the eurozone crisis, who said that:

"This grotesque pilgrimage is certainly not the German interests, but at most in that of the Socialist International.”